Ra.One : Music Review

SRK : Hey VS, I'm making a futuristic superhero movie, hop in.

Vishal: Oh, man, I'm dying to make a techno album.

SRK : Whoa whoa, wait, I am not talking about Love-story 2050 thing. Its 'my' movie yaar, SRK movie, one with family values, mush, laughs and some action, got it? And it must have English lyrics sprinkled in each track, right?

Shekhar; Ok, got it. For starters, lets think of an International star. Like ARR did with Kylie in Blue? Lets rope in Beyonce.

SRK : No no, she'll be too hot for this movie for my Aryan, lets take his favorite Akon.

Vishal : Umm...Item number !

Shekhar : Aha !! jeevan, I mean G.One ki jawani ! LOL. Here you go. Girl you're my Chammak Challo !

SRK : This Arabian kinda thing sounds completely addictive man. I want to dance right now. How about giving Akon yet another song? [making my Paisa, vasool?]

Vishal : One condition. I will sing along with it.

Shekhar : How 'bout Bhangra fusion this time? My favorite genre.

SRK : Brilliant. My punju NRI fan following will love Bhangra fusion. This track - Criminal sounds equally good. The techno beats fused with Bhangra are OMG Kool ! Where was Shruti Pathak till now? Hey, by the way - where is the mushy song? Design something around tune of my favorite 'Stand By Me' by Ben King.

Vishal : Take this Shafaqat Amanat Ali track. This one's for you.

Gauri : Wow Shah, I love this track. But why this reminds me of Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Karan Johar??? And by the way, I want song for Aryan and me too. A song for a wife and the kid.

SRK : Listen to Bhare Naina - a yet another tabla+rock fusion. And Right by your side - just for you Aryan darling.

Shekhar : Psst.. Vishal, doesn't Right by your side sounds like a song from Anjana Anjani?

Vishal : Naa bey, listen to those heavy guitar strings and antaras. Its different.

SRK : Hey hey hey, that Nandini Shrikar's Bhare Naina sounds fantastic. But what about the chasing and action scenes?

Vishal : Well, here is our 'yet another dedication to RDB' - Raftaarein feat. sound of fast train and dash of Duniya mein logo ko....

Shekhar : And this Sukhwinder Singh fusion - Jiya mora ghabraaye - isn't it fab?

Anubhav Sinha : Aha, now I know how to design chase sequence. One on train is for sure.

SRK : Hey man, do think about my injuries though.

Anubhav : Awright awright, now don't sing Jiya mora ghabraaye.... and hey VS, how about putting up those background score on the album?

SRK : Those Old spice jingle meets RDBurman meets James Bond meets Spider man tracks?

VS : Okay, here you go. Comes the Light , I am on and finally, Song of the End !

SRK : WALLAH !! THERE YOU GO VS ! We have completed our album ! Inshallah it will be a hit. But wait a minute, its my film, and why am I not singing a single song in it? Lets record a song in my voice!

VS : Man, music launch is on coming 12th, why do you want it now???

SRK : Bollywood ka king kaun??? Me. Producer kaun? Me... so STFU and make a song...we'll release a new 'Special Edition' CD for that track.

VS : aH...Well....ok........ Oh SHIT !! SEE That site!! **outrage**

SRK : wHAT ??

VS : It says All of the Ra.One songs are available for download. We are killed now.

SRK : :-| **Calls Bhushan Kumar**

Bhushan : **Stares at ceiling** **speaks to self like Ekta Kapoor serial's bitch** I'm doomed man. I bought music rights for xxx billions. :-||

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Well, No offense to SRK fans. I am equally disappointed that 5 years of labour has ended this way. Best Luck to SRK. Looking forward to your dream project.

On personal note, I loved the album. Though Jiya mora ghabraaye could have been better. Loved Dildara. And both tracks by Akon - are extremely addictive. Can't wait for the movie.


My Favorites : Chammak Challo, Dildara, Criminal.


Tags : Ra One Music Review, Ra One Review, Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Priyanka Chopra, Anubhav Sinha, Arjun Rampal, Ra One Game, Ra.One, Superhero, G One, G.one, Ra One lyrics, Train Chase

Damadamm : Music Review

My head was playing songs of his last, Radio - when I got hands on Himesh's latest offering "Damadamm" [titled 'Ishq Unplugged' earlier]. I am not a big fan of Himesh but just can't escape when he composes really good stuff. Like Namastey London and Radio.

To start off - the peppy Title track 'Damadamm mast mast mast mast Kalandar' is foot tapping with HR singing in different tone. This fast number will be sure favorite on the floors. The next track - the one i was waiting for after watching it first time in theatrical trailer - 'Umarao Jaan' [no touching, only sing] is highly highly addictive [especially, the remix one]. Purbi Joshi crooning few lines, and Himesh in his original voice - the song is sure to get stuck in head. Next Aaja ve mahi with Punjabi lyrics is passable. While Madhushala is outstanding. [yes, you read it right] Himesh and Aditi Singh Sharma both reminds us the sound of nasal oldies, but indeed an innovative composition. Though it annoyed me when the first few lines [in desi hindi] were sung, but then the song picks up like anything.

Was surprised to see Sadhna Sargam's name on HR's album. Breezy Yun toh mera dil by her and [ofcourse] HR, sounds lovely. Even if you are not fan of his voice, you are surely going to love it. Starting with lovely aalap by Vaishali Made - Hum Tum is a haunting track with glitch of bad lyrics [train ki ek patri..:-|] but sounds nice nonetheless. Tere Bina has tune reminiscent of Kahin toh..[JTYJN]  HR is in full form here, full nasal form. Similarly in next, I need space - which made me hit 'next' button after a few lines.

I miss you baby like mango, tere intezar mein na apple na tango, This 'LMAO' line is from the track Mango. That is rather well composed, but lyrics killed it. The last one - co-comopsed by Sachin Gupta - rock'ish Bhool Jaaoon is good one, but I think that's just an 'extra' and not a part of the movie.

Overall, do give this album a chance even if you hate HR. There are tracks you'll really like. I read it somewhere that Himesh needs to stop narcissist overdrive and give the songs to singers other than himself. Very true.

My Favorites : Umrao Jaan, Madhushala, Yun Toh Mera Dil


Tags : Himesh Reshamiyaa, Ishq Unplugged, Purbi Joshi, Damadamm songs, Damadamm movie, Sonal Sehgal, HR Musik, Swapna Waghmare

Bodyguard : Movie Review

You must have played that game of Mario. His only reason to fight with baddies was to save the Princess. No flashbacks. No explanations. Just fight and finish. Salman Khan is the same here. You have no right to ask why everyone is behind Divya [Kareena] to kill her. Don't apply any logic. Just admire the awesomeness called Bhaijaan - Salman Khan.

Continuing 'i-can-bash-any-baddie' saga since Wanted [which I love most] Salman Khan as 'Lovely Singh' charms with his cute expressions through out first half, fun to see him obeying each order by his 'madam'. Though second half drags during midway, that is compensated at fantastic climax fight. Its Salman Khan all the way. Viewer forgets there is Bebo too. [sigh, wish if her character was well written, or someone else could've been better-Kat?]. And oh, the twist in tale ala K.Jo way at the finale, was naice. :P

Wasn't fan of the songs when heard for the first time. But in the movie, all the songs were fun. And Teri Meri [that I didn't like] was finely picturized. 

Overall, its fultoo fun masala experience. Way to go our sophisticated savior of Masala films. 

Side note : Given a chance, catch this movie in a single screen, rather that multiplex. Extra dose of fun guaranteed.

Tags : Bodyguard movie review, Katrina Kaif, Salman Khan, Raj Babbar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Aditya Pancholi, Alvira Khan, Katrina Sallu, Siddique, South Indian Remake, Bodyguard

At Masti Ki Paathshala : Nahargarh, Jaipur

Ahh... another stop of my Filmi Journeys. Masti ki Paathshala from Rang De Basanti. There I was. At Nahargarh [the fort] at Jaipur. Sigh....what mind bending structure.

In the film -

....and thats me - 'to jump, or not to jump' thats the question. [Fat gai thi yaar, height dekh ke.. :P]

Fabulous structure - from different angles. [click on images to get larger view]

And... the grand panoramic view of the city of Jaipur. [click to see larger view]

Tags : Rang de basanti, Masti ki Paathshala, Shooting Location, Nahargarh, Jaipur, Graffiti

Mausam : Music Review

After watching the awesome promo, my expectations went huge for music of Mausam. But keeping in mind that Pritam is composing it, I had to keep them controlled. But somehow, after listening to the soundtrack for the first time, I feel its good. Though Punjabi is not my favorite genre of music, still the songs strikes balanced chords for a big entertainer directed by Pankaj Kapur.

'Rabba main toh mar gaya' is an instant reminiscent of 'Ajj din chadeya'[LAK], but voice of Shahid Mallya charms. Lovely track, that also has 'Reprise' by RFAK. 'Sajh dhaj ke' - a satire on 'foreign return munda' - is absolutely foot tapping. [Though oft repeated Mika is now annoying me.] Nonetheless, the lyrics and beats makes it fun listen. Ustad Sultan Khan's aalap starts 'Ek tu hi tu hi'-but the goosebumps moment is when Hans Raaj Hans enters. If you can pass the Chant like chorus singing, the melancholic mood of the song haunts you for longer. Reprise by Shahid Mallya, equally good.

'Poore se zara sa kam hai' needs some more listening. Rashid Khan sings it flawlessly, but still I can't get the mood of the song. Somewhere it sounds like 'Hamd' [Urdu for praise of the God]. Again a goosebumps moment - when I heard "Aag Lage uss aag ko' - based on 'Gujarati Duha'. Who else can sing it better than Karsan Sargathia. Fast drum beats and rendition of 'duha', this situational track should be must watch on screen. Though it would sound even better if proper balance between vocals and instruments was there. 'Mallo malli' by Tochi Raina- is an annoying techno dance number, that disturbs this rather smooth journey.

Not a single track that is sung by a lady. Not a single duet -  Sigh.. still, this all male OST is good, not great, lets see how Pankaj Kapur translates it on screen.

Tags : Shahid Kapur, Sonam Kapoor, Pankaj Kapur, Mausam movie, Pritam Chakraborthy, Irshad Kamil  

I am Kalam : Movie Review

Touted as 'based on life of APJ Abdul Kalam'; I am Kalam is actually 'inspired' by him. Directed by Nila Madhab Panda, this is one lovely charming tale of little 'Chhotu'; played endearingly by Harsh Mayar [no doubt he won a National Award for the performance]. The film effortlessly fits in the league of some fantastic flicks of the genre, like-Tahaan, Ramchand Pakistani, The Blue Umbrella and recent Stanley Ka Dabba.

I am Kalam is story of Chhotu, who works at a roadside 'dhaba' [hotel] in a small town of Rajasthan, owned by Bhati [Gulshan Grover, surprisingly in a likeable performance]. Chhotu has a dream of getting educated in a school, become a 'big' man when he grow up. Film fanatic Laptan [Pitobash Tripathi] is also serving at the same place, senior to Chhotu, he gets annoyed by the attention clever Chhotu is getting by Bhati. Moments involving both of them are funny that keeps you engaged in the movie. Also, the charming smile-always on face of Chhotu [who names himself as Kalam after watching the president in news] keeps you hooked. Husaan Saad playing Ranvijay, the little prince living nearby Haveli, as the only friend of little Kalam, is again a likeable character.

Though there are some glitches in editing - it is forgivable anyways because thanks to the clever screenplay, the main theme of Kalam's dream, never gets off the track. Adding another character - French tourist Lucy played by Beatrice Ordeix, the film gets more interesting as she interacts with Kalam[Chhotu], Ranvijay and Bhati - and promises Chhotu to take him to Delhi to study. Watch out for the jam session started by Lucy playing RavanHatha. A beautiful fusion piece of music is out there. The climax [as expected] has endearing moments which leaves smile on your face. A content feeling.

Watch it for taste of real rural Rajasthan. Its simplicity and for Harsh Mayar - the star of the show.